Quick and Easy Spiced Lentil Soup

I had a week off work last week and, after spending a windy and slightly damp few days in the Lake District, I was feeling suitably autumnal to need a warming lunch to take back to work with me.

Having commenced the bake fest that was my Sunday afternoon (see Wholemeal Bread and Spicy Bhaji-esque Bites) to improve my mood once the dread of going back to work had set in, I decided on soup as my lunch of choice so that I could use my rapidly rising dough (once it became a delicious wholemeal loaf!) to dunk into it. And, given the pie and cake fest that was my Lakes break, it had to be a soup packed with free and superfree foods to get me back on the Slimming World wagon (weigh in is tomorrow night and I’m terrified!).

The resulting soup is not too spicy but has a nicely warming kick. Thick enough to eat with a spoon without it dribbling down your chin and filling enough to mean that you don’t spend the afternoon fantasising about the crisps and chocolate that you are convinced would solve your hunger issues, this makes a good comforting workday lunch with the minimum of effort.

Ingredients

• Fry light spray

• 1 – 2 inch piece of root ginger, peeled and grated

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

• 1 onion, roughly chopped

• 2 carrots, peeled and grated

• 150g red lentils

• 1 litre vegetable stock

Makes 4 hungry/greedy person’s servings (the greedy person is me)

1. Heat some fry light in a pan and add the ginger, cumin seeds and chilli flakes. Cook gently for a couple of minutes.

2. Add the onion and carrots and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the lentils and then pour in the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

4. Using a hand blender, blend the soup until smooth. And you’re done.

I keep the soup in the fridge and use over 4 days. If you have a freezer (I don’t L) then you can freeze it and use up whenever you need a bit of spicy warmth!